Homework

 We're back home now after a mildly productuve couple of weeks on Herbie.  The worst of the roof rust is now removed, treated and overpainted.  Still plenty more to do of course but things look a lot better along the starboard side of the roof at least.

Then I did a trial of the fixing screws I bought to fix the wooden handrail to the steel beneath.  Here's what the screws look like

The pointy bit is supposed to act like a drill through the steel (in my case 4mm thick) then the thready bit self taps into the hole. All screwed in from the wood above. Well it didn't go as easily as I had hoped at first.  The pointy bit was very reluctant to make a hole in the steel, so instead I first drillled a pilot hole with a normal drill bit.  After that it all went rather well with the self tap working nicely and the countersink part nicely burying itself into the wood surface. All on an old piece of the old handrail of course. Then I unscrewed it apart to check it out.

So now I feel confident to order the timber. 

Meanwhile at home I can prepaint the new cratch window trim mouldings and then set about making the replacement rain diverters (see previous post).

I don't know if Gertie the cat is glad to be home or not.  She thoroughly enjoyed her time at the marina. 

I should stay away from home more often. Our garden has once again proven that it gets on far better without me.  Many would call it overgrown but I think of it as natural. At least 75% of the plants have arrived uninvited like the bluebells in the border.  There are some primroses in there too but they've got submerged in hellbores and pulmonaria and wotnot. Mostly I just let it get on with it.

 The clematis on our holly hedge is a complete mystery to me, I don't know where it comes out of the ground. Another half of it grows and flowers a good forty feet up a monster holly tree just outsid ethe fence.

While we were away our huge lime tree has burst into leaf (leaving bucketfuls of little bud husks everywhere). One of the few things I have actually planted is my little herb garden which threatens to outgrow itself.  How do you stop oregano from going berserk? It threatens to take over my parsely like Trump and Canada. I think I might try to freeze some of the mint leaves for use in winter.

Lastly our lilac tree has grown so tall that only the next door neighbours get a good view of the flowers but at least we can smell them.

 We'll be back for more Herbie work before too long I hope.